NASHVILLE, TN— October 3, 2024

On September 16th and 17th, 2024, HIMSS Chapter Leaders from North America descended on San Antonio, TX for the first in-person Chapter Leader’s Exchange forum since 2019. It was a quick but informative two days of learning about the new updates that HIMSS is focusing on from a society perspective, as well as updates to their Global Conference in 2025. There were over 100 leaders in attendance, representing all 55 North American Chapters, mainly Presidents, President-elects, or designated Board member proxies from the various Chapters.

The forum started with a fireside chat with HIMSS CEO, Hal Wolf, on his renewed focuses of the organization, what a day in the life of his role and responsibilities entail, and a few anecdotal stories about his recent travels to Europe, the Middle East, etc. It was refreshing to hear his renewed focus and goals around improving the Organizational Affiliate (OA) program, their goals and objectives around healthcare IT advocacy, as well as key focus areas around content and education of AI, digital transformation, advanced analytics, and workforce development. Next, we heard from Reid Oakes, HIMSS’ Chief Product Officer and Jim Burnett, VP of Engagement Strategy, on some soon to be announced membership model changes and practical ways to engage members and OAs. From there, we heard about some exciting updates from the HIMSS technical teams on the soon to be deployed Association Management System (AMS), Fontiva, to replace an antiquated Content Management System that was hindering analytics and reporting on membership data, among other important areas that were in desperate need for modernization. We heard from a panel of Chapter Leaders on best practices for engaging members and local OAs and rounded out Day one with a networking reception and dinner.

Day two focused on Advocacy, which Hal Wolf called the “tip of the spear” for the HIMSS organization. There are some exciting new opportunities to be announced soon around ways for Chapters and members across the nation to engage at the local, state, and federal levels to continue advancing digital health and technology modernization across our healthcare industry. Next, we heard from a panel of Chapter Leaders on different strategies, programs, and ideas where they have seen success in the production of events. From there, we heard from the Chief Marketing & Communications Officer, Christine Buck, on ways to build and optimize Chapter marketing strategies, which was very insightful on many levels. Lastly, we wrapped up with a panel on ways to manage and effective Board of Directors, followed by some exciting new updates coming to the HIMSS Global Conference in 2025 from their new partner, Informa. Updates to be announced very soon, so keep an eye out!

Overall, and again, it was a very informative 2-days of learning, networking, and collaborating with Chapter Leaders across North America. With all of the news and updates, it is apparent that the HIMSS organization is right-sizing and recalibrating their strategy and approach, on many levels, that will seemingly lead to more value to our Chapters, members, nation, and world as a whole, as we continue improving healthcare through the power of technology!

Media Contact: Tiffany Madigan
Executive Director, TN HIMSS
tiffany@tnhimss.org